[god in the yard] cycle: sabbath

Crystal has a heart for making the church and the Christian faith real and relevant to the world around her and is passionate about serving others in the name of Christ. Crystal is married to her perfect match, D and is Mommie to A and the two sweetest kitties on earth.

May 30, 2011

[serialposts]

I know that some say Sabbath is just about God, that it’s not about resting up to be more productive, that it should not mean “nowhere goes somewhere” because we shouldn’t be so focused on the “somewheres.” But I believe that’s exactly what Sabbath may be designed to do. ~L.L. Barkat

“Honey, take a break. It’ll be there in the morning.”

I can’t count the number of times my sweet husband has said these words to me. When I get on a cleaning spree, I am on it! I won’t stop until there’s not a single speck of dirt anywhere to be found. Whether it’s 2 in the afternoon or 12 midnight, I am a woman with a mission.

And yet over time I have discovered that the longer I clean, the more tired I get, and the less I seem to get done. If only I allowed myself to take a break once in a while, it might actually take less time!

Sabbath. It’s such a scary word to me.

You mean you want me to stop and just do nothing for a while?

But there’s so much to get done! Emails need to be sent, articles need to be written, meals need to be made. If only I keep at it for just one more hour, then I can stop for the night. Then one hour turns into two and before you know it you’ve worked right through that scheduled time of rest.

But what if stopping is what allowed me to go a little further the next time?

Think about a car … if you drive it for hours on end it will eventually run out of gas. It may even overheat. There comes a time when you have to turn off the ignition and refuel it’s tank.

What if stopping is what makes us go?

“Just stop.” It sounds so easy. But it’s not. At least not for me.

Stopping requires trusting that there’s something greater happening. Trusting that Someone is holding the world close by while I stop and rest a while. Trusting that the world won’t end if I push that stack of emails until tomorrow morning. And trusting that only through doing nothing will I find something that matters even more.

My wife does the same thing. She has a hard time slowing down. Sometimes she tells me that I am need to be more like her!!
One of the things that I have read recently (and I can’t remember where this comes from) but someone said — Divert daily, withdraw weekly, abandon annually — this is really good advice for me and I hope for others as well.

I’ve often thought of the great sacrifice it must have taken for the Israelites to keep Sabbath. Think of all they had to do to prepare for a day devoted to the Lord. And I can’t even give up the broom! Thanks, Crystal, for walking beside me today.

Great post, Crystal. I’m not a good “stopper” either. Then I just get so worn out from GO, GO, GO that I fall over physically, mentally, emotionally. I need to STOP and LISTEN. I do believe that is what is being pressed on me most in my reading of GOD IN THE YARD.